Challenge Accepted!
by Thoughts in Chaos
Summary: AU/WWE-verse one shots based on what you can challenge me with! Chapter 3: Request from DivaliciousDool. Randy Orton has had his thoughts consumed by the new girl in the WWE family, Mara Blair, but after coming out of a divorce he hesitates to do anything about it. Nick Nemeth takes it upon himself to force the Viper to act with a little help from Kaitlyn and AJ Lee. Orton/OC
1. Intro

This is an idea I've had floating around for a few days and is fairly straight forward.

I'd like to consider it something of a social experiment crossed with a sort of self imposed writing exercise for short, nonsequential stories. This will be a collection of one-shots (possibly two at most) that will be written on request by way of review or PM, mixed in with a few of my own plot bunnies from time to time. Anyone who is interested throws me an idea with whatever your little heart desires. Pick your genre, characters of your liking (including any OC creations), a setting for the story and a general plot outline of where you would like to see it go.

For this to work I'll be willing to go past my own writing comfort/interest zones (slash, femslash, Cena stories etc) and the usual genres I dabble in; basically the only restrictions will be what is set by site guidelines itself. Everything else is open season.

While keeping stories in the realm of wrestling is fine, the more original and creative your idea is the better. You want to see Wade Barrett as a swashbuckling pirate? I'll give it a shot. Brodus Clay sent on some zany adventure with his Funkadactyls Naomi and Cameron? Consider it done. Or maybe horror would be more your preferred story to peruse as some mysterious maniac stalks the divas down one by one? Let me see what I can do.

So go on, give us both a giggle and hit that review button, the only limit is the imagination =D

Peace!


	2. The Viper

_Thought I'd kick this thing off with an entry of my own muses. It's an idea that I've had for a while but never evolved into something that would wind up as a full blown fic, so what better way to deal with it? It's also the first story I've ever written in a first person perspective._

_This one is for any and all Orton fans, hope you enjoy._

_Peace!_

* * *

I watched the girl as she spotted her father and raced across the soft, well manicured grass into his open arms. He holds her tight and gently strokes her hair reassuringly while placing a kiss on the top of her head; she's safe now and he wont let anything like the ordeal she had undergone in the past few days ever happen again. Our eyes lock as he looks over and not a work is spoken, but his message in his eyes is clear. He knows, even with the hefty amount he paid me, that this is a debt he feels he can never really pay in full. I give him a curt nod then turn and walk away, it's the last time either one will ever see of me. You may be wondering who I am, so since I'm feeling generous I'll tell you my story. My name is Randy Orton.

But most people only know me as the Viper.

I'm what you could call a... problem solver. Or if you want to be blunt about it, a soldier of fortune; people come to me to get the jobs done that others can't -or wont- do. I'll be straight up, I am not a nice guy. I kill people as a living for the most part, it's not exactly the kind of work nice guys get into. I used to be a Navy SEAL and while I learned a lot from the experience, I was one of the best at what I did, well... lets just say I'm not very good at following orders. So I took my talents and went into business for myself. Why become a mercenary I may hear you ask, to which I say- why the hell not? There's a market for it and the pay is a lot better than the peanuts the government think is adequate for an enlisted man.

Take this last job for example. This man, Robert 'Booker T' Huffman, is one of the most powerful and influential men in the world of music. I don't know exactly what he did and to be frank I don't really care, all I know the wrong people had it out for him and so they decided to take his daughter and hold her for ransom. Instead of going to the cops or the FBI he came to me, you'd be surprised how many do with this sort of job. Money was apparently no object so I threw a number at him, up around the five figure mark and he delivered without argument so we had a deal. Instructions were to bring her back and kill the ones who were responsible. So with the details in hand I started tracking them down and in the mean time told Booker to take a close look at his own people; I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone he knew had a hand in it.

So from the heart of New York I worked my way through my contacts and a list of names connected to the kidnappers by any means necessary until I had the girl's location; some place on the coast in Mexico called Rio Lagartos. Getting in contact with a guy by the name of John Cena, who was a former marine I used to work with on and off who lived in Tampa, I organised boat to take me from Florida across the gulf and into the small beach side town. For a day or two I posed as a tourist as got my bearings and learned the general layout so I wouldn't get lost in case something went wrong.

And wouldn't you know it, something went wrong.

Finding the girl was easy enough, they had her stashed at a beach side house across the road from a hotel, clueless amateurs. They had been using the phones in the hotel lobby to make their calls. So I went down to the local council building and got the blueprint for the place they were keeping her. The guy at the desk gave me a strange look despite my fluent Spanish but a few bills slipped under the table was enough for him to forget what I looked like; one tourist looks the same as the next, right? Hiring out a room in the hotel opposite of my target I staked it out. Booker had gotten back to me that afternoon, saying he had found the person in his camp who had helped the bastard who stole his baby girl, turned out to be his own wife. I guess that's what happens when you remarry to a gold digging woman who's at most only seven years older than your own daughter, they never seem to like the idea of sharing the spotlight.

While 'Mrs Booker' said she'd call the whole thing off I didn't trust her. The woman had been caught out and knew she was going to be out on her pretty ass and destitute almost immediately and therefore had nothing left to lose. People like that were dangerous and unpredictable, whatever I was going to do I had to do it fast. As the sun went down and the night crept across town I prepped my gear then made a call to a local pizza place and went downstairs, taking a complimentary book of matches from the lobby on my way out. As the delivery boy pulled up to the home next to my target I intercepted him and with the proper motivation he suddenly had to call his boss to tell him it had been a prank call before he wandered off with what would have been a few days pay in his back pocket. Opening up the delivery bag I slipped one of my silenced pistols inside and walked up to the door.

After a brief argument through the flimsy front door one of them opened up in irritation once he finally cottoned on that the 'delivery boy' wasn't going anywhere with the idea of waving a gun in his face to scare him off. Soon has the door opened three bullets slammed home, one through his throat and a double tap to the heart, then I catch his corpse before it hit the floor and drag him inside. Another surprised stooge was coming out of the kitchen with a beer in hand ended up with six inches of razor sharp steel silencing him, the arterial spray fanning over the cheap wallpaper. With two down and only two more goons to go I wiped my knife clear of blood on the dead man's shirt then crept through the kitchen with silent steps and turned on all the valves on the gas oven. Using the reflection of the sharp steel as a mirror of sorts to scope out the lounge room finding the third henchman sitting on the couch watching TV. Sheathing my blade I went back to my gun and whirled around the corner, a bullet was in his temple before he could barely react and his lifeless body slumped back into the overstuffed chair. My attention was drawn by a sharp, frightened cry; my quarry was upstairs. Wasting no time I headed up, ready to get the job over with.

What I found though made me see red.

While I might not be a nice guy I'm still a man. One thing a real man does, if absolutely nothing else, is he never hurts a woman. The girl I had been sent to find was no older than twenty, so when I saw this asshole on top of her trying to get her pants down I lost my shit. Grabbing him by the back of the next I tossed that bastard clear across the room, the large mirror above the low chest of draws breaking his fall. He pulled out a knife and tried to shank me but the move was undisciplined and sloppy so I could easily counter the clumsy attempt on my life, twisting his wrist until I felt that satisfying crunch and struck at his elbow at the same time with cartilage and bone giving way under the force of the blow. Hollering in pain and grasping at his ruined arm he tried to back away but I struck out with a brutal kick, destroying one of his kneecaps and he went down hard. I watched him in that cold, professional zone I get into while on the job before putting a bullet through his right eye. Just to make sure he stayed down I give him a matching hole in his left.

With the immediate danger over I turn to face the girl, she's absolutely terrified. Not that I can blame her considering what I walked in on and the way she saw me deal with it. I had to be careful here, if she started screaming there was a good chance the cops might get called and with four dead bodies, a kidnapping victim and a merc all under the same roof would be more than a little hard to get myself out of. So I slowly put my gun down and held out my hands, trying to come off as non threatening as possible. "Amanda Huffman."

She seemed to be surprised that I knew her name, "Who are you?" She asked me, her voice shaky.

"That's not important." I replied, "Your father sent me. I'm here to take you home."

I offered her a hand which she looked at with a wary eye for a moment before taking it and I led her downstairs, a squeak escaping her when she saw two bodies of the other three dead men, then through the back door. She could smell the gas in the air and looked at me questioningly. "Head down to the beach," I told her as I pilfered a bottle of tequila from a nearby shelf and opened it, "I'll be down there in a minute." She didn't need telling twice and was out the door like a shot. Using my knife I cut a strip of cloth off the shirt from the guy who's throat I slit and doused it in the alcohol before stuffing it in the neck of the bottle. Heading the same way as my charge I beat a retreat down the path through the back yard a distance before lighting the Molotov cocktail then hurled it as hard as I could toward the open door and ran for the sand like a bat out of hell. The result was one glorious explosion of fire and debris.

I watched her as she watched the fingers of flame curled up toward the night sky as sirens blared in the distance. She was shocked at first, then realisation crept in when it dawned on her she was free... well, not quite yet, I still had to get her back to New York, but she seemed smart enough to know that I was here to protect her until we got there. I headed off down the beach with the girl right beside me and finally flagged down a cab about half a mile away from where we were. It was time to get to the boat and get the hell out of Rio Lagartos. Within a day or two we reached Miami and while it wasn't home I could tell Amanda was happy to be back on solid ground at least, seems she didn't have the stomach needed for the sea life.

At first we were fine, the whole thing seemed to have gone off without a hitch, but when we were heading to the airport the trouble started. I almost missed it at first but after a few random twists and turns I knew we were being followed. When I hit the pedal to the metal our pursuers knew they had been made and actually opened fire on us. Tires squealed and the smell of burnt rubber was left in our wake as I weaved the through the heavy traffic along the highway, other motorists panicking as the deadly game of cat and mouse brushed their mundane nine to five lives. A stray bullet hit the back window causing it to spider-web and make visibility out of it impossible. At the very last second I took the next exit ramp with barely inches to spare between the car and the cement wall, our pursuers weren't graced with the same good fortune as they hit the concrete head on; their car flipping high into the air and came crashing down on it's roof, the automobile a complete write off.

We had to get off the road before the cops saw us, the destroyed window may as well have been a giant neon sign above our heads. Someone, somewhere, must have sold me out and knew I was coming back to Miami from Mexico. I had an idea who but it would have to wait for now. We dumped the car and found the nearest bus stop, it was a safe bet that the airport would be watched so a good old fashioned road trip through at least five states was plan B. Buying a couple of tickets our first stop was Savannah where we'd stop for a night to rest up and continue on. When we finally got there we went to a small local mall so she could buy a change of clothes to help throw off anyone who may be on the lookout for us. As evening set in I hailed a cab to take us to a motel.

The nondescript hotel room I booked us was definitely something she wasn't used to, I could tell by the look on her face as she looked at the solitary bed in the cramped room with the only other pieces of furniture being a desk and an overstuffed lounge chair. Amanda looked at me suspiciously as I crossed the room and took the chair, "Relax, Princess." I said, dragging the chair to a spot next to the window. "The bed is yours, I'll be keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Picking up the remote for the cheap TV that had been bolted to the wall to prevent its theft I switched it on as she stood there a moment longer before disappearing into the bathroom. A moment later I heard the water running and she didn't come out for a good twenty minutes or so. I guess it was the first time since this whole thing started that she had some time to herself without having to worry what was waiting on the other side of the door. When she did finally emerge in a billow of steam she sat on the far end of the bed, her time split watching what was on the screen and myself before she finally said something. "I'm hungry."

At the mention of eating my own stomach rumbled, neither of us had eaten anything since lunch. I debated what to do, then decided to leave her in the room while I went down to the burger place that was on the corner. The less time she spent out in public until I got her home the better. She seemed frightened at the idea of being on her own so I showed her how to use my gun and told her not to open the door to absolutely anyone unless I knocked on it in a very specific way.

The night passed by uneventfully and at some point I had dozed off a little but came back to full alertness at the sound of a suspicious noise. It was to early for the cleaning maid to have arrived so I picked up my gun from the night stand and cocked the hammer back as I shifted the edge of the curtains back for a better look. I swore under my breath, the idea of who sold me out in Miami I could definitely confirm now, there was only one person who knew me this well. "Wake up, Princess." I said quietly as I gently shook the girl awake, "We have to go." Seeing my gun in hand she immediately knew something was up, scared as she was she simply nodded and scrambled out of the bed. I pulling my hoodie over my head as she did the same while we slipped quietly out the door.

Darting from cover to cover we made a beeline for an old and slightly beat up soft top jeep. As quietly as possible I opened the door, Bundling Amanda in first before climbing in. Keeping my head down I worked on hot wiring the old girl. As soon as the engine started up it was like a magnet, so without wasting time I slammed it in reverse as the tires flung the cheap gravel into the air. Shots rang out so I answered it with my own before tearing out of the car park and down the road. Knowing that this would get back to their head honcho I was going to have to be more careful and change around the places on where we had originally planned to stop.

We kept on the move, keeping to the back roads and passing through towns only when we had to, though even with the extra precautions we ended up having a few more close calls. Finally were coming to the end of our journey; tomorrow afternoon we would arrive in New York and she would be safe and sound with her father, but I was fully expecting this final leg to be the most dangerous, and where I had no doubt I would tie up a certain loose end.

When we got there Amanda was completely exhausted but unable to sleep, the idea that this ordeal would finally be coming to an end playing on her mind. I was dressed in nothing but sweatpants having just come out of the shower and picked up the TV remote when she emerged from her connected hotel room. She must've liked what she saw because was making a point to look at everything but me when I glanced over at her sitting on the edge of my bed from flicking through the channels of mindless television. Deciding I wanted a beer I got up and opened the mini bar and pulled out a Bud. I twisted the bottle open and flicked the top into the trash, when I turned around she was standing right in front of me. For the first time since I got her out of that house I actually stopped and took a good look at her. I have to admit, I liked what I saw. There's hot girls and then there are those that are just down right steal your breath away beautiful. Amanda was definitely the latter.

The tattoos that covered my arms seemed to intrigue her as her caramel brown eyes flicked between my neutral expression and the many skulls that where inked into my skin. Tentatively she reached out and touched the solitary rose that was the only colour amongst the sea of black and white work. I could tell she wanted to ask about it, but even if she had I wouldn't have answered; every man has something he doesn't want to talk about. Her soft fingers slowly glided up my arm and again her eyes caught mine. She leaned in so close I could smell the lingering scent of soap on her before she hesitated, unsure if she should continue. Next thing I knew her lips were on mine. It was slow at first, but her confidence grew when she was sure I wasn't going to reject her advances. Her arms wrapped around my neck, fingers running through my damp hair as her nails grazed along my scalp. My own got tangled in her long, thick locks and gently tugged her head back, deepening the kiss as my other arm encircled her waist. As for what happened after that... lets just say Amanda didn't have such a hard time trying to get some sleep.

We woke up early next morning and once we finally got into New York we caught a bus that would take us to the ferry, getting off a few stops early so we wouldn't be dumped right in the middle of the working crowd and therefore unable to scope the place out properly. My nemesis, it seemed, knew me to well. When we got off the bus I saw him and instinctively put myself between him and the girl, "Amanda, when I tell you, I need you to run as fast as you can. Find some place that's in plain sight with a lot of people."

"But-"

"Go. Now." I snapped, watching the guy closing in on us fast. "I'll find you, I promise."

With one last glance she obeyed and ran like there was no tomorrow. He with a small shake of his head he smirked, stopping a foot or so away opposite me. "Never expected something like this from you, Cena."

"It's nothing personal, Orton. Just business." He answered, "I'm getting paid a lot once they found out you had taken the girl."

"A shame you wont be around long enough to collect on it."

"We'll see."

He pulled out a silenced handgun and I barely managed to get out of the way in time before knocking it out of his grasp. We then launched into each other, our fight taking us down a nearby alley as we traded blows, countered deadly strikes and deflected savage kicks. Our skills were evenly matched and the blood from split skin started to flow on both of us. He eventually hit me with a particularly nasty shot with a discarded pipe and I went down like a sack of potatoes. As I grasped my side, positive a couple of my ribs had just been cracked, if not broken, the man from Massachusetts stood over me with a triumphant smirk as he retrieved the fallen pistol. Cocking the hammer back he looked down on me, aiming the barrel at the back of my head, "Like I said, Viper, it's just business."

His need to get the last word in was his fatal mistake. Before he knew it my knife had sunk deep into his gut and the look of victory turned into one of shock. Running on the last of my adrenaline I wrenched the weapon from his grasp and ended it for him the way he had intended for me. The blood pooled around his lifeless body as I tossed the gun on top of his now still chest. "Consider yourself retired."

With an arm wrapped around the bottom of my chest I set out in the direction Amanda had run, only to find she hadn't gotten any further than the end of the street. I should have been angry with her for not doing what I had said, but I guess I'm not the only one with problems following orders. After a quick detour to get myself cleaned up we arrived at the ferry on time and managed to get to Manhattan, making it to a secluded place in Central Park. As we waited she looked up at me with a hint of sadness, "I'm never going to see you again, am I?"

All I could do was offer her a small consoling smile, I could see the signs of infatuation beginning to set in. Being tied to someone wasn't my style, with the life I lead would only put them in danger and give them noting but misery. A woman deserved better than the life of death and destruction I could offer. "Unless something bad is about to happen, no." Before she could say anything I gave her one last kiss, "Stay safe, Princess. Someone's here to take you home." Confused at first she followed my gaze from our concealed place and rushed towards an arriving Booker. The rest as they say is history.

Within the following weeks a huge scandal had broken out about the former Mrs Booker T, who had gotten herself deep in debt with the wrong people and had organised the whole fiasco in the first place in an attempt to pay off some debts to some very nasty people. Eventually the lives of Booker and his daughter went back to normal, or at least as normal as they could be after something like this.

As for me? I keep doing what I do best, kicking ass and taking names. There's a lot of problems in this world and I'm the man that can solve them...


	3. Chapter 3

_This was a request by DivaliciousDool. I had a fluffy moment settle over me and this is the result. Hope it hits the mark, hon._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"If you stare at her like she's a meal any harder she's gonna turn into a cheeseburger."

Randy Orton was snapped out of his dream like state to see leaning against the wall next to him an amused Nick Nemeth, or Dolph Ziggler as the world knew him as; resident show off and Randy's current on screen rival. Standing up straight his attention shifted between the focus of Orton's attention back to the third generation star, "Instead of lurking around like some stalkeresque creeper you could always try, oh I don't know... asking her out perhaps?"

Randy took a half hearted swat at the peroxide blond to which he easily dodged. "Quiet you."

"Oh come on, man. You've been drooling over Mara for weeks. If you don't do something about it soon I will."

"Nemeth, if you don't get out of here I'm going to have to hurt you." The Viper growled irritably, despite their in ring dislike for one another behind the scenes the pair were actually fairly good friends. Usually the wise ass banter of the current Mr Money In The Bank was welcomed, but Randy found himself not in the mood for it right now.

Nick remained unconvinced by the idle threat as he shook his head and chuckled. "Whatever delusions make you happy, Orton." If Randy wasn't going to to anything about his current infatuation with the new make up artist on his own, then Nick was going to force him. What better way to go about it than with some friendly 'competition'? Smoothing out his already slicked back hair and straightening his tee, Nemeth left Orton where he was. Ignoring Randy's panicked hushed protests Nick sauntered toward the three women that comprised the make up team as they gossiped with two of the Divas that were there getting prettied up. "Evening, ladies." He said before turning his killer smile on the focus of Orton's affections. He had to admit, the man had taste. Taking one of her delicate hands in his he placed a light kiss on the top of her knuckles, "Ah, the lovely Miss Mara Blair. How are you finding life in the WWE?"

Nick's pale blue eyes seem to hold her own black ones, Mara's cheeks flushed pink as AJ and Kaitlyn giggled softly at Nemeth's overacting. All three wrestlers knew that Randy had a thing for the girl and that Nick would never actually make a serious move on her because of it, especially since it was the first time since his divorce that Randy had shown more than a fleeting interest in any woman. With a quick sideways glance AJ caught sight of Orton and subtly elbowed her best friend, a grin passing between them both at the exasperated expression on Randy's features. Nick was so going to pay for this little stunt in his match tonight.

"It's... interesting." She finally managed to get out. Mara Anna Blair was a quiet young woman; her somewhat shy, introverted and occasionally awkward nature seemed to lend her an air of innocence amongst the boisterous testosterone dominated atmosphere. She mainly kept to herself most of the time, but was friendly enough to anyone who talked to her.

"Only interesting?" Nick questioned, a questioning brow now accompanying his smirk. He found her shyness rather cute and endearing. "You must be a tough woman to impress."

"What? Wait, I didn't mean it like that." She blurted out, completely misunderstanding his comment and thinking that she must've sounded ungrateful or something. "It's great to be working here, there's so many people to get to know and we get to go all sorts of places and-"

The sudden rush caught him by surprise, hands up in the air he interrupted her flustered rambling, "Hey, relax. I was only kidding."

"You were... Oh, I'm so sorry." Mara replied, her pink cheeks turning a deep shade of red in embarrassment as she stared anywhere but at the man in front of her. '_Smooth move, Blair'_, she thought to herself. '_You've managed to break your own record of making an ass out of yourself by an entire wee__k!'_

Thinking fast Nick said the first thing that came to mind in an attempt to put her at ease, making her feel uncomfortable was the last thing he had intended to do. "No harm, no foul" He said, "Tell you what, how about we have a little get together for a couple of drinks after the show? You, me, AJ and Kaitlyn." Before either Diva could think of answering he gave them a quick look that seemed to say _Please, for the love of god, trust _me. She wavered at first and when it looked like she was going to knock him back he bought out the puppy dog eyes. _'Come on, girly.'_ He pleaded internally, _'I really don't want to have to put up with Randy's long distance pining any more.'_

"That sounds nice." Mara finally answered, Nick's friendly and disarming manner making her feel a little less flustered. While she had made idle conversation with everyone who sat in her chair for make up the only people she ever talked to outside of that were to two Divas getting their hair done, mainly because they were fairly new themselves as well.

"Great! I'll see you fine ladies after the show, then."

Parting ways he grinned mischievously at Randy as he made a move to walk past him, "What are you up to now, Nick?" He demanded as he grabbed his arm.

"Simple really. I asked her out and she said yes." He replied, omitting a couple of the key details. It was to much fun right now to wind him up, regardless of how much he knew he was going to pay for it later on in the ring. "Now if you'll excuse me."

"I am _so_ going to kill you, Nemeth." Randy hissed as Nick moved along and simply laughed at Orton's threat. He slumped against the wall, stealing a glance over at Mara and ran a hand over his face, not wanting to believe his friend had actually gone and cock blocked him like that. _'Nice one, Orton.'_, He grumbled at himself, knowing just how smooth Nick could be when he turned on the charm. It didn't surprise him that Mara had agreed to go out with him. _'Way to go ahead and lose the girl.'_ With a frustrated growl he stalked off down the hall and out of sight.

Mara watched the former World Champion curiously, wondering what had him so aggravated. She had obviously seen him around and had heard the story about his recent divorce that had happened before she had started working here. What made it even more heartbreaking was that his three year old daughter had been caught in the middle of it all, to young to understand why her mummy and daddy had been fighting all the time before Randy had packed up and moved out, not wanting to uproot his child from her home. He apparently had had a couple of casual flings afterwards but nothing had been anywhere close to serious.

Ever since she landed this job and laid eyes on the Apex Predator she had developed a crush of sorts on him but was to shy to actually do anything about it. It was bad enough she felt she had made an ass out of herself in front of Nick, if she had done so in front of Randy she just knew she'd die of mortification. Still, even though it wasn't technically a date, she began to wonder if she would have had the courage to say yes if it had been Randy who had asked her out. She didn't have time to pursue the thought though as Eve Torres sat down in the chair, ready for Mara to work her cosmetic magic.

* * *

Nick positively ached all over, Randy had kept true to his word and put him through the proverbial wringer. He only hoped that by the end of it the punishment would be worth it. Ever since losing Samantha and his kid Alanna it seemed as if he was missing a step when not in the ring, so Nick had taken it upon himself to pull the man out of it somehow... even if he had to resort to dirty tactics to do it. As he finished lacing up his shoes Randy had finally emerged from the showers, towel wrapped around his waist and merely scowled at Nemeth before rummaging around in his bag for fresh clothes.

Nick simply rolled his eyes and picked up his bag, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper that bounced off Randy's head as he left the locker room and made his way for the parking lot. With a look of puzzlement he smoothed it out to find an address and the words _you're welcome, __jackass_ scribbled in Nick's familiar scrawl. A wave of suspicion washed over him as he eyed the note, wondering just what the hell sort of crazy, hair brained scheme Nemeth was up to now...

He got his answer when he showed up at the mystery address, a small club not to far from their hotel. Raw that night had been in Phoenix, Nick's home town, so he knew all the right places to go. Right now he was sitting in a a wide horse shoe shaped booth with his back against the wall with a good view of the door. Kaitlyn and AJ sat to his left with Mara next to him on the right. _'You sneaky bastard._' Was the only thing that ran through Randy's mind when Nemeth caught sight of him and grinned. The presence of the the other two women took him completely by surprise.

"Well, well, well. Look who just breezed in!" the Show Off commented casually as Orton approached their table. "Care to join us?" The only open space left was right next to the woman he had been day dreaming about non stop since he had first laid eyes on her. Sitting down the two superstars looked at one another, an understanding running between them. The five of them chatted idly for a while and it took a lot for nick to blatantly face-palm the would be couple opposite him. What more did he have to do, drag them into a shotgun wedding? Though he did have to admit, he was going to have so much fun giving the usual smooth-and-slick-around-the-ladies Legend Killer a hard time for a long while after this.

"I love this song!" Kaitlyn exclaimed suddenly when the music changed songs and seized Nick by the wrist, "Come dance with me."

"Just a minute, Kate." AJ objected, grabbing his other hand. "I was just going to ask him that!"

"Ladies! Ladies!" He grinned, they were playing their parts perfectly. "There's enough Mr Money In The Bank for both of you." Simply 'abandoning' Randy and Mara to their fate before either one could protest the three wrestlers headed out to the dance floor, the smug look on Nick's face was priceless as AJ and Kaitlyn danced either side of him.

_'Oh god, I'm here by myself with Randy Orton.'_ Mara did her best not to panic as she groped for something to say, a finger absently tracing the feather tattoo on her wrist. "So..."

"So..." Randy repeated, just as much at a loss for words. _'God damn it man, snap out of it.'_ He scolded himself, he hadn't acted this awkward around a woman since junior high. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his divorce had shaken his confidence when it came to the opposite sex. "How are you liking life on the road?"

She smiled a little, deciding to avoid the word 'interesting' this time. "I'm enjoying it. Everyone had been really nice so far." Mara replied, "The travelling is a little harder than I thought it would be though."

"I know what you mean." He replied with a smile of his own as he remembered when he got called up to the main roster almost ten years a go. "It took a bit of getting used to for me as well, going from the light travel schedule of OVW to the non stop pace of Raw and Smackdown."

She seemed to relax a little at this, and slowly but surely they began to fall into a free flowing conversation. They talked about where they grew up, their families and what antics they had gotten up to in high school; Randy surprised to find that under that quiet and shy exterior hid a dormant wild child who, when the circumstances were right for it, would come out and play. An hour or more must have passed before either of them finally realised that the other three hadn't returned from the dance floor and when they looked around for the trio had discovered that Nick, AJ and Kaitlyn had managed to leave without anyone being none the wiser.

It wasn't until last call that they finally left for the hotel, Randy walking Mara up to her room. "Thank you for a great night, Randy." Mara said with a small smile.

"Actually I think we should both be thanking Nemeth." He answered with a grin, "I have a feeling he set this whole thing up." He scratched the back of his head, hesitating for a moment as he seemed to debate something. "Listen, I was thinking... and it's totally cool if you say no..." She looked up at him quizzically as he halted before taking a breath and diving in, "Would you like to go out sometime this week? Just the two of us this time." Apprehension played through his mind like a manic mantra as he waited for her response, _'Please don't say no, please don't say no, please don't say no.'_

Here heart seemed to skip a beat. _The_ Randy Orton was asking her on a date?! When he shuffled his feet nervously it snapped her attention back from her stunned giddiness, "I'd like that. I'd like it very much."

Relief flooded through him, _'She said yes!'_ "Great!" He almost startled himself with just how exuberant his own reaction was before clearing his throat and forcing himself to calm down, "How about we work out a time and everything tomorrow. The show should be heading to New York in a couple of days and I know a few places."

"It's a date." _'Ugh, did I really just come out with that corny old line?'_ She asked herself, but the grin on Randy's face just seemed to get bigger.

He made a move to leave but again hesitated, his body seemed to jerk a little in uncertainty before seizing the moment, a small kiss brushing against her lips. "Good night, Mara."

Slowly she closed the door and leaned back against it once he was gone, her brain buzzing with excitement before spontaneously bursting out in a little dance of glee. If this was a dream then she hoped she never woke up.

Randy finally reached the room he was sharing with the man who was behind tonight's plan, Nemeth looking up from his book with a grin like the Cheshire Cat but didn't say a word. Randy simply grinned as he took the opposite bed and began to take off his shoes, "You owe me one, Viper."

"Yeah yeah." randy replied as he settled down for the night and silence settled down on the two friends for a moment or two. "You try anything like that again and I just may have to kill you for real."

Nick simply scoffed good naturedly, "You're welcome, Orton."

* * *

**3 months later.**

Randy came in from behind the curtain sore, sweaty and a little tired, but ultimately satisfied. Nick had successfully cashed in his contract a month a go and Randy had been at the forefront to try and take it from him. It had all cumulated to this night at Survivor Series. It wasn't to be though, Dolph Ziggler besting the Viper in a two out of three pin falls match. Despite this Randy felt good about it, not taking the strap from Nick had been his way to say thanks for his stunt three months prior. As he rounded the corner to see a certain someone he couldn't help but smile. "Good evening, Miss Blair."

Mara squealed a little in surprise as a pair of strong tattooed arms encircled her, the warm breath that spoke the words tickling her ear. "Get off me, you're all sweaty." She tried to hold a serious face, but it wasn't happening.

"How about we fix that and I make you all hot and sweaty to?" He asked playfully, then rested his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled the perfume she wore.

"Shower. Now. Go. Make it a cold one." Mara demanded and tried to point in the general direction of the men's locker room, only to have Randy's own arm snaked along hers and turn her to face him. She saw the desire in his eyes, making them darken and it sent a thrilling tingle down her spine. Her voice dropped so it was barely a whisper, her words only for him to hear, "You can work on the hot and sweaty thing when we get back to the hotel."

"You saucy little minx." He grinned and holding her tighter and went in for a kiss, commanding and passionate, not breaking it until it left her breathless. "You better be ready to go in about ten minutes, this is going to be the quickest shower and change in history."

Jan, the hair stylist, merely sat back as the young couple seemed oblivious to her presence. Once Randy had left she cleared her throat and caught the attention of the young make up artist, "Safe to say that either way Randy seems to be a winner tonight." She watched as Mara smiled somewhat sheepishly, "I think it's sweet, you two definitely make quite the couple." The older woman assured her.

Mara wasn't going to argue. Ever since they had started dating she found herself slowly abandoning her introverted self and was now more confident than she had ever been before in her life. Randy had gone from strength to strength as well; managing to get back on civil enough ground with his ex so they could work out what was best for his sweet baby Alanna, who he was also relieved got on well with the new woman in her daddy's life. What the future held she didn't know, but she knew she wasn't going to go through it alone. As Randy once again re-emerged, taking her hand in his and they left the arena each felt a lightness in their heart. So long as they had each other it felt there was nothing they couldn't do.

Watching them leave was Nick, kaitlyn and AJ Lee, all rather proud of themselves as the sight of the love birds disappeared with a mutual understanding though the three of them...

Mission accomplished.


End file.
